


Edeleth Week 2019 One-Shots

by Lhea



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff without Plot, Hot Chocolate, References to Depression, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-01 11:23:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20814326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lhea/pseuds/Lhea
Summary: A collection of short one-off stories based on Edeleth week 2019 prompts.Not necessarily doing every prompt, just the ones that I have ideas for.https://twitter.com/EdelethWeek





	1. Cocoa With a Side of Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 1 - Snow
> 
> Nonsense fluff, snowed in with hot chocolate prepped by Edelgard herself.

Snow falls outside the cottage window in heavy flurries, just as it had done for all of the night before. A small fire crackles and chews at a pile of logs in the mantel. The quiet pops of glowing embers draw my attention from my book. I snap the tome shut, setting it in my lap and focusing on the flames. The mesmerizing sounds are a magnet for my ears and eyes. Absent thoughts drift to the last time I had truly been able to experience this time of year in any semblance of peacetime. The last time that I had heard Dad’s voice.

“You’re certain that you don’t mind being snowed in?”

Edelgard’s voice calls my attention from the fireplace. I toss my head in the direction of her call. She’s gathered her silk white hair into a simple tail draped over her shoulder. Her footsteps brush softly against the varnish of the cottage floor, the light sounds masked by her socks and the hems of a pair of soft lounging pants. She carries a small tray just under her chest, atop which sit two mugs emanating steam. She rounds the corner of our sofa and sets the tray down on a small table.

“El,” I say, “I grew up in Remire Village, remember? I’m used to the winters being this cold.”

“I didn’t ask if you were _ used _ to it,” she remarks, reaching for a mug of cocoa, drawing her feet up onto the couch and under her legs. “I asked if you didn’t mind us not doing much today.”

I roll my eyes as I take the remaining mug into my hands. “I get to spend today with you, don’t I? That’s more than enough for me.”

Her cheeks flush with crimson mid-sip of her beverage. “You have plenty of time to do that. Surely there’s something else that catches your fancy. Training? Perhaps even more of those singing lessons with Dorothea?”

My first sip of the cocoa is long and drawn. I relish the simple flavors, the slight hint of bitter dark chocolate from the bottom mixed with sweet milk and a sprig of… cinnamon? Or perhaps nutmeg. The heat rolls down my throat and settles happily in my stomach before radiating outward through the rest of my body. I smile, content with my position.

“Hello~?”

Her voice snaps me out of my momentary trance. She’s moved closer to me, no longer on the opposite side of the couch, rather waving her hand in front of my face.

“You okay?” she asks with a giggle. “It’s just hot cocoa.”

“Sorry,” I say, turning my gaze down to the surface of the steaming liquid. “Hot cocoa always held a special place in my heart, so it’s a bit sentimental.”

“Really? And why is that?”

A smile crawls its way into my lips. “Mhm. Dad would make hot cocoa during the winter months, especially around Saint Seiros Day.” I take another long sip. “It just makes me happy to think about him.”

Edelgard tilts her head to the side. “Byleth, are those… tears?”

I look up, alarmed. “Am I?”

She sets her cocoa down on the small end table to her side before reaching across the distance between us. Her thumb brushes across my cheek, smearing salty moisture from the corner of my eye. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “I am,” I say with a chuckle. “They’re happy tears, I think. That’s a thing, right?”

“Yes, Byleth, that’s a thing.”

“Sorry. I’m just not used to this whole emotions schtick, I guess.”

There’s that smile of hers again, the one that always lifts my heart into my throat. She plants her lips on my cheek, and suddenly I feel hotter than my cup of cocoa. The muscles in my body relax as she pulls away, but the heat lingers on the skin she had just graced.

“Something the matter, my love?” she asks playfully.

I take the opportunity for myself. My hand darts for her neck, curling around the back and pulling her close again. This time, her lips meet mine, sending a surge of delight through my body. My heart accelerates, thudding against my chest -- just one more thing I’ve yet to get used to. She squeaks at my assertive display, but does not protest. Rather, she sinks further into me, cupping my face in her hands. We linger for a few moments, neither interested in parting ways.

Her amethyst eyes glimmer once we finally separate. I can’t stifle the smile in my heart from welling up onto my face.

“What could possibly be the matter?” I ask.

“Well, for starters. Your mug is empty.”

I glance down at the cup still sitting in my hand. She’s right.

“Let me fix that for you,” she continues. “Any special requests for this cup? Or just the same recipe?”

“Whichever one comes with an extra dash of love,” I say with a smirk.

“That’s all of them.”

“And?”

Edelgard rolls her eyes, grinning as she swipes the mug from my grip and rises from our shared seat. Her hips swing with each step. “You’re impossible sometimes,” she says.

“Yet you still stick around, by choice!”

She pauses at the entryway into the cottage kitchen to glare at me, cocking a hip out and placing her free hand on it. “Yes, by choice. Goddess forbid I care about you.” She turns back into the kitchen and disappears beyond the walls.

“A bit more nutmeg this time, actually!” I call back to her. “That’s the extra dash of love!”


	2. Promises Forever Kept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 - Learning
> 
> In this case, learning to let go.
> 
> CW: Implied depression, references to character death

Edelgard stared out her window across a dreary day in Enbarr. Gray clouds lined the sky and showered the city in a drizzle of fresh rain carried inland from the sea. A hint of sunlight peered through them briefly, but was quickly squelched. The wind whistled across her looking glass into the outside world.

She hated days like this.

It had been a year since she had accomplished her goals. A year since the fall of both Derdriu and Fhirdiad, their capitals kneeling before the military might of her empire. A year since she had met all of her past friends on the battlefield, and cast them all aside in pursuit of her ideals. A year since the great beast, the Immaculate One, fell to a joint blow from both herself and her teacher.

A year since Byleth had left her.

Three raps came from the door to her bedroom. “Your Majesty?” Hubert’s raspy voice followed. “Are you awake?”

She did not turn her head. “I am, Hubert,” she called. “Please, come in.”

Hubert entered as requested. “I trust you’re ready?” he asked.

Edelgard looked at him and nodded. Her eyes had lost their luster.

“Very well.” He extended a hand to her. She eyed it curiously and with parted lips before reaching to take it. He tugged on her weakened frame, lifting her out of her chair and up to her feet. “Come now, Your Majesty,” he said. “We mustn’t keep them waiting.”

They traveled together through the palace as a pair, just as master and humble servant always had. Edelgard stumbled over her own feet once or twice, only to be caught by Hubert’s expecting and trained hands to pick her up again. Thankfully, their journey was not long.

In the gardens of the Imperial palace laid a small shrine. The former members of the Black Eagles had already gathered, garbed in black robes as befitting their first annual ceremony at this shrine. Rain drizzled down on their heads, a suitable mood for their gathering.

Dorothea was the first to notice Edelgard and Hubert’s arrival. “Edie, you look well today.”

Edelgard offers a limp smile in return. “And you as gorgeous as ever, Dorothea.”

“Our hearts are filled with joy on seeing you!”

“I am glad to see you feeling well enough to join us, Your Majesty!”

“Glad to have you back with us, Edelgard!”

One voice was missing. One that still lingered in her head.

Hubert guided Edelgard to her seat in the front row. Ferdinand assisted him as she fell into the chair rather unceremoniously. With his duty complete, Hubert assumed his post at the front of the shrine, before all of his fellow classmates.

“It is very good to see all of you today,” he began. “Today, as you all know, is a special day in all of our hearts. Today, we gather to remember.”

Edelgard closed her eyes. She could recount all of her precious memories as if they were yesterday. Still the ghost of her teacher haunted her in the dark reaches of her nightmares. She paid little attention to Hubert’s speech, instead choosing to focus on her own memories.

* * *

“El?”

Edelgard looked up from her equipment after tightening a strap on her gauntlet. “Yes?” she asked.

“This is it, isn’t it?” Byleth asked in reply. “This is what we’ve been fighting for all this time.”

Edelgard nodded. “Fhirdiad is just beyond the Tailtean Plains. But crossing them into the capital will be no easy feat. King Dimitri is waiting for us.”

Byleth looked toward the sky and tightened her grip on the Sword of the Creator. “It’s just hard to believe that we’re finally here, is all. It always felt so far out of reach.”

A rare smile crept onto Edelgard’s face. She approached her teacher and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know, but yes. We’re finally here. We’re finally going to build this new world of ours together. A new world for humanity.”

Byleth’s cheeks flushed. “Careful using those words now. ‘Together.’”

“Is it a lie?”

“Of course not,” Byleth giggled. She turned her gaze on the emperor. Her emerald eyes glistened with joy. “El, when all of this is over, we’re going back to Enbarr together, right?”

Edelgard nodded before leaning her head on Byleth’s shoulder. “Yes. And we’ll make those dreams we’ve talked about come true.”

* * *

“I’m ending this once and for all!”

Edelgard and Byleth leaped into the air, their Relics glowing with sacred power imbued by their Crests. Together, they came down as one, connecting in a single attack.

Blood dripped from the Immaculate One’s forehead, oozing in streams from the wound inflicted from their dual strike. Fire raged around them as the beast fell in a stupor, gasping for its final desperate breaths in futility. It slumped to the floor, defeated, its blood leaking across the stone floors of the Fhirdiad palace grounds.

Edelgard approached the slain dragon’s corpse. “Is it… is it over?” She held Aymr at the ready, in case her job was not yet done.

Behind her, Byleth collapsed.

Edelgard rushed to her side, barely in time to catch her before her head hit the ground. Her teacher’s body fell limp, eyes shut and mouth hanging slightly open. She felt her heart sink into her stomach. _ No, surely not like this. _

She placed her heart against Byleth’s chest. Only the silent rage of the burning city rang in her ears.

Tears welled in her eyes. Falling rain masked them as the fires around her quelled.

The Sword of the Creator fell to the floor, masterless.

* * *

“Your Majesty? Is everything alright?”

Hubert’s voice disturbed her trance. She lifted her eyes; his narrow pupils examined her face closely. “I’m fine, Hubert,” she replied. “Just wanted to reminisce for a moment.”

“Would you like to say anything?”

She mulled the thought over. “I don’t know what I could say to all of you that has not already been said.” Her eyes turned to the shrine. “But I would like some time alone with her, if that’s okay.”

Hubert nodded. He quickly gathered the remaining Eagles and escorted them out of the gardens, back into the palace. They knew better than to question the emperor’s wishes, especially on a day like this.

Edelgard stared at the shrine. “Hard to believe it’s been a year, isn’t it?” she asked in silence.

The wind whistled in reply and whipped strands of hair across her face. She brushed them aside and tucked them behind her ear.

“I’m holding that promise, you know,” she said with a chuckle. “You asked me before that fateful battle at Tailtean to promise that I would hold strong, no matter what happened to you. I remember the fire that burned in your eyes when you made me promise that.”

She dusted away a few budding tears from her eyes.

“And I guess we did come back to Enbarr together. Just not in the way that either of us hoped.”

Edelgard rose from her chair slowly, summoning the strength to walk. Her steps were feeble, frail, as if carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She ran her hand across the face of the shrine.

“But I’m glad that we could walk together,” she whispered as a tear fell from her cheek. “Even for just a short time.”

Her lips met her fingers, then her fingers the shrine’s surface.

“Sleep well, my sweet love. Until we meet again on the other side.”

_ Byleth Eisner _  
_ The Wings of the Hegemon _  
_ Chosen of the Goddess _  
_ Speaker for Humanity _  
_ 1159 - 1186 _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for this one. The idea came to me, and I had to write it.


	3. For Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 - First Kiss
> 
> Partially inspired by this wonderful piece by @khe_mn https://twitter.com/khe_mn/status/1179426740256608257?s=19

Edelgard surveyed the state of her equipment. Boots were securely fastened against her calves. Gauntlets were strapped across her forearms. Shield had been freshly polished and smoothed by a blacksmith the night prior. Sidearm dagger was stowed away beneath her tassets. Axe had been sharpened in much the same way.

Her eyes lingered on the blade of her weapon for a few moments. She had received it from the professor a few months back as a congratulatory gift after the mock battle at Gronder. Fashioned from silver, the weapon’s surface gleams in the evening starlight. Her reflection stares back at her, and she sensed the uncertainty lingering in her lavender eyes.

The eve of their battle had come. Years of culminated efforts now bore fruit. The Church and the Empire were finally at war. She clenched her fist. She would not let herself fail.

“Edelgard? You ready?” Byleth’s voice rang in Edelgard’s ears.

“Almost,” she called back. She wanted just another moment to focus on something, anything to draw her away from thinking about the coming storm. She turned to the mirror hung on her eastern wall while she pulled her locks back and tied them into a neat bun. A few strands of hair hung in front of her forehead; she lacked the patience to fix them properly and instead tucked them behind her ears.

Byleth awaited her as she left her chambers. “That’s a new look,” Byleth commented.

“I can’t just have my hair laying down straight in the middle of a battlefield,” Edelgard retorted.

“Hasn’t stopped you before.”

“Those times were different. Class missions always felt less serious than this.”

Byleth frowned. “You okay?” she asked.

Edelgard sighed. “I’m just still anxious, I think. My nerves have been acting up lately.”

“I don’t think anyone can fault you for that.”

“It’s not about fault.” Edelgard looks at the bland, featureless stone ceiling of Fort Varley. “I’m supposed to be the anchor for these men. They trust me to stand strong in the face of any adversity, else they’ll lose their morale. That weight is immeasurable.”

“But this is the path you --  _ we _ chose, isn’t it?”   
  
“Yes, you’re right.” She took a deep breath and turned to make her way down the hall. “Come. The caravan is waiting for us.”

“Edelgard, wait.” Byleth’s voice was sharp, cutting through the evening air like a hot knife through butter. She reached for Edelgard’s wrist and locked it in her grip. A strong tug was enough to drag their bodies close together. “You don’t need to run,” Byleth continued, tracing her knuckles across Edelgard’s cheek. “The caravan can wait another minute or two.”

Edelgard’s eyes shimmered. Her heart froze for a moment before accelerating into high gear. “My teacher… what are you doing?”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t really know,” Byleth replied. A flush of heat flooded her cheeks. “You can thank Dorothea, I suppose.”

“Thank Dorothea for what?”

Edelgard’s heart leaped into her throat with the force of its beating. She held onto her breath and looked up cross-eyed at her teacher’s chin just outside her field of vision. She blinked a few times, and still the chin was there. The held breath left her lungs as a content sigh in a brief display of weakness.

“For that,” Byleth said with a smile as she pulled herself away. The blush in her cheeks had intensified.

Edelgard tilted her head to one side, nudging her nose against Byleth’s fingers and coaxing them into cupping her cheek. She told herself that this couldn’t be real. Surely she was still asleep on the night prior. But as nice as it was, she couldn’t let herself have this. She pulled away, wresting herself free.

“I’m sorry, Professor,” said Edelgard. “I just…”

She winced.

Byleth’s greaves rattled through the hallways.

Edelgard hung her head and followed far behind.

* * *

Edelgard departed from her carriage alone. Garreg Mach’s once brilliant landscape had been converted to a battlefield. The nearby village had been evacuated by both monastery and Imperial efforts, leaving few opportunities for unnecessary casualties. Edelgard preferred it this way.

A nearby scout approached her with a salute. “Your Majesty!” he said. “Generals Ladislava and Randolph have already begun their assaults on the monastery, but they are being pushed back on each front!”

“What of the rest of my classmates?” Edelgard asked.

“To the best of my knowledge, they have all gone ahead. They are likely awaiting your command, Your Majesty.”   
  
“Understood. Once I reunite with my main force, I will pass your message along to our tactician. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, and may luck guide your hand!”

He departed as quickly as he came, leaving Edelgard a brief time to herself. She often found herself racing through her thoughts in the silence before battle; in this instance, she fell into the temptation to brood. The kiss from before weighed on her shoulders. She had been callous, cold, rejecting, all things that she had sworn not to be as an emperor, yet she had fallen back into them as a person.

Why had she become so obsessed over such a fleeting moment? She recalled how warm she had felt when it happened, how she subconsciously nudged Byleth’s hands open to cup her cheek, how she had wanted more. In what might have been her last chance, she pushed Byleth away. Edelgard took a deep breath and sighed. She couldn’t let such emotions own her, not when her triumph was in reach.

Byleth emerged from her carriage.

“My teacher, are you ready?” Edelgard asked.

Byleth nodded. “I suppose I am. As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Guilt lingered in her stomach. She felt Byleth's lips still lingering on her forehead like a phantom. The same warmth emanated from the kiss, despite its absence. It radiated through her face, across her cheeks, drawing a bead of sweat along her temple. How could she have been so blind?

“Professor!” Edelgard cried.

Byleth turned her attention back to the emperor. Her eyes were vacant and lifeless. They reminded Edelgard of the same empty gaze that Byleth bore when they had first met.

“I’m… sorry. About earlier.”

Byleth arched a brow. “It’s okay, really. I overstepped. I won’t do that again. Come on, we have a battle to fight.”

Edelgard clenched her fists. This woman's stubbornness infuriated her at times. Byleth had been so forward earlier, but now needed to throw up her walls and shut Edelgard out? She wouldn't let herself be thrown aside so easily, not in a moment that left her so vulnerable.

Byleth passed her by with eyes fixed firmly forward.

Edelgard lunged for the professor’s wrist. Her grip was stronger than Byleth’s, and she held onto her teacher tightly. She dug her fingers into the soft leather gauntlets and tugged with all of her strength. Just like before, their bodies nestled closely together, only now Edelgard held control. She wasted no time, guiding her free hand to Byleth’s cheek.

Her lips met their mark and locked with Byleth’s. The familiar warmth from before enveloped her body, yet more intense. A fire raged in her belly, consuming all the guilt that once tormented her. She released Byleth's wrist from her grip, coiling her now free hand about the professor's waist. Her heart pounded in her chest.

The soft touch of a guiding hand found the small of her back. With it, the weight from her shoulders dissipated.

They lingered together for a moment. As they parted, Edelgard held her hand on the back of Byleth’s neck.

Byleth's eyes filled with uncertainty and confusion.

“For luck,” Edelgard said, smiling.

“I don’t…,” Byleth started. Her cheeks were alight with fire. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ll just thank Dorothea when this is all over," Edelgard whispered, leaning Byleth's forehead against her own. She wanted to stay in this moment for as long as she could. To just idle with her teacher, this incredible and infuriating and empowering woman who had stumbled into her life.

But duty called.

"Come on," Edelgard said. "We have a dragon to slay.”


End file.
